Synopsis

Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1906 as a socialist argument against wage slavery. Instead of generating interest in socialism, his exposure of the unsafe and unclean aspects of the Chicago meatpacking industry fueled reform and helped ensure the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and the Meat Inspection Act. The novel remains an important one for historical as well as literary reasons and is one of a handful of books in the Muckrakers' canon.

Upton Sinclair.AP/Wide World Photos.Reproduced by permission.

Timeline

1886: Bombing at Haymarket Square, Chicago, kills seven policemen and injures numerous others. Eight anarchists are accused and tried; three are imprisoned, one commits suicide, and four are hanged.